Unified considers building swimming pools

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Smith, who is skeptical of the district’s plans to use taxpayer dollars to renovate YMCA pools. “What about fixing the leaky roofs and restrooms?”

Smith is also concerned about the district’s plan to partner with nonprofits, referencing the problems Coronado High School had with its aquatic center.

The Coronado school district spent $8.5 million on a pool in 2006 that was supposed to be run by a nonprofit. The partnership fell through and students are now forced to compete with private groups to pay for pool time.

The San Diego school board will consider a more detailed pool plan after the district researches the project in the coming months. So far, the district has not yet assigned a price tag to the bond project.

San Diego Unified does not get all of the bond proceeds at once, rather it gets them incrementally based on the frequency of bond sales. The district received $530 million on April 30 after selling a portion of its Proposition Z bonds. The next bond sale is scheduled for 2015.